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ore than 150,000 Nigerians, who were displaced from their homes by the Boko Haram insurgency to the neighbouring country of Cameroon, are in serious need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Under-Secretary eneral for Humanitarian ěairs and Emergency Relief Coordination,
Stephen O’Brien, said yesterday. O’Brien, in a press release handed over to journalists in Washington, DC, specięcally commended the Cameroonian government for accommodating and protecting the Nigerian refugees, despite the insecurity challenges facing the country. he UN senior oĜcial, who personally
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visited Cameroon to meet with government oĜcials so as to discuss ways of improving assistance to over 1.3 million people chronically vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition, often due to the eěects of hostile and changing climate, called on the international community to increase
NICON, MFBs partner on micro-credit scheme >> Page 3
Newswatch Times Continued on page 2
-Tradition built Truth -Tradition built onon Truth
www.mynewswatchtimesng.com
Vol. 1, No. 52
October 25, 2015
N200
SUNDAY
L-R: Former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Nobel Prize winner, Prof. Wole Soyinka; former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, and former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the formal inauguration of the Wole Soyinka Foundation, held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta... yesterday.
WHY TRIBUNAL SACKED GOV WIKE Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt, Paschal Njoku & Saminu Ibrahim, Abuja
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he Rivers State Governorship Election etition Tribunal, siÄ´ing in buja, yesterday, nulliÄ™ed the pril 11, Ĺ˜015 election of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying the poll was characterised by massive electoral irregularities that posed a threat to the country’s democratic practice. Consequently, the three-man panel, led by Justice Suleiman Ambrossa, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh gubernatorial election in the state within 90 days.
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In arriving at its judgement, the tribunal relied on the report of INEC, which directed that accreditation of voters must be by Card Readers, and that, where the machine malfunctioned, election in that area or polling unit should be postponed. But from the totality of wriÄ´en statements
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admiÄ´ed in court and oral evidences given by witnesses called by the petitioner, the tribunal said it was convinced that, rather than postpone election in areas where the Card Readers failed, election oÄœcials resorted to manual accreditation of voters. It also considered statements of witnesses
and potency of evidence tendered by the petitioner that the election was not credible and was conducted in non compliance with INEC guidelines, as “there were widespread irregularities, allocation of ęgures, violence, ballot snatching, intimidation of voters, corrupt practices, etc.� The judgement has aĴracted diěerent reactions from the parties involved in the governorship election in the state. While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the judgement cannot stand, the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the judgement is a ‘deadly blow to impunity’ and had
Continued on page 2
Obasanjo escapes death, as vehicle somersaults thrice >> Page 5
Be soldiers in war against insurgency, Buhari urges Nigerians
>> Page 3